What are Competency Based Questions
Competency based questions are interview-type questions that involve candidates to provide specific examples as the basis of their answers. The answer should explain why certain choices were made, how these decisions were applied and why activities unfolded as they did.
Exam Boards
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Why are Competency Questions Used
Recruitment professionals believe that past performance, provides an insight to a candidate’s potential future performance. Instead, interviewers use competency questions to persuade candidates to reveal how they have performed in various situations in the past, revealing individual personality traits. These are a great help for interviewers interested in finding out exactly who a candidate is and how they may act if employed.
Answering Competency Questions
When answering competency questions, it is advised that candidates do not talk in broad terms. Providing general answers or providing unrealistic situations, may not work in a candidate’s favour. Instead, candidates should use specific situations from their life as examples.
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Common Competencies
There are some key competencies that interviewers and recruiters, generally focus on. Note: PassPsychometric advises candidates to review the specific competencies and values of the organisation that you are applying for.
| Competency | Example |
|---|---|
| Teamwork | Describe a situation where you were working as part of a team and what was your key contribution? |
| Decision making | Give an example of a time when you had to make a challenging decision under a short time constraint |
| Communication | Tell us about a time you had to change your communication style to suit a particular audience. |
| Leadership | Describe a situation when you took the role of leader. What challenges did you encounter and how did you deal with them? |
| Results and Performance | Give an example of a time when you outperformed your competitors and were particularly successful. |
